The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought in and around the Ferozepur area of Punjab in 1845 and 1846 between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company. It culminated in the Sikh empire's loss and partial submission, as well as the cession of Jammu and Kashmir as a separate princely state under British suzerainty. This article will explain the First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46) which will be helpful in Modern Indian History preparation for the UPSC Civil Service exam.

First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46) - Background

• Maharaja Ranjit Singh developed and cemented the Sikh kingdom of Punjab in the early nineteenth century, about the same time as British-controlled lands pushed to Punjab's frontiers through conquest or annexation.
• Ranjit Singh maintained a careful alliance with the British, relinquishing some land south of the Sutlej River while building up his military strength to discourage British expansion and to wage war against the Afghans.
• He hired American and European mercenary soldiers to train his army, and he also included Hindu and Muslim contingents.
• This was viewed as an aggressive maneuver that gave the English cause to declare war.
• The causes, on the other hand, were far more complicated and can be summarised as follows:
• The anarchy in the Lahore kingdom followed Maharaja Ranjit Singh's death, resulting in a power struggle for dominance between the court at Lahore and the ever-powerful and increasingly local army.
• Suspicions among the Sikh army arose from English military campaigns to achieve the annexation of Gwalior and Sindh in 1841 and the campaign in Afghanistan in 1842.
• An increase in the number of English troops stationed near the border with the Lahore kingdom.

Course of the War

• The British side had 20,000 to 30,000 troops when the conflict began in December 1845, while the Sikhs had roughly 50,000 men under the general direction of Lal Singh.
• However, the Sikhs were defeated five times in a row due to the treachery of Lal Singh and Teja Singh at Mudki (December 18, 1845), Ferozeshah (December 21–22, 1845), Buddelwal, Aliwal (January 28, 1846), and Sobraon (February 10, 1846).
• Five battles were fought in the First Anglo-Sikh War.
• Battle of Mudki - Tej Singh led his army across the Sutlej River and moved on the British outpost at Ferozepur, but they did not attack or surround it.
  • At the Battle of Mudki late on December 18, another force led by Lal Singh met with Gough's and Hardinge's advancing army.
  • The British came out on top in a sloppy engagement fight, but they took a lot of losses.
• Battle of Ferozeshah - The Battle of Ferozeshah took place on the 21st and 22nd of December 1845 at the hamlet of Ferozeshah in Punjab, between the British East India Company and the Sikh Empire.
  • Sir Hugh Gough and Governor-General Sir Henry Hardinge commanded the British, while Lal Singh led the Sikhs. The British came out on top.
• Battle of Baddowal - The Battle of Baddowal was a Sikh Empire raid against a British East India Company detachment near Ludhiana in the present-day state of Punjab in 1846.
• Battle of Aliwal - The Battle of Aliwal took place in northern India on January 28, 1846, between British and Sikh forces
  • Sir Harry Smith led the British forces, while Ranjodh Singh Majithia led the Sikhs.
• Battle of Sobraon - The Battle of Sobraon took place on February 10, 1846, between the East India Company and the Sikh Khalsa Army, the Punjabi Sikh Empire's army.
  • This was the decisive battle of the First Anglo-Sikh War when the Sikhs were decisively crushed.
  • Lahore surrendered to British soldiers without a struggle on February 20, 1846.

Result of the First Anglo-Sikh War

• Lahore Treaty: On March 8, 1846, the Sikhs were compelled to accept a humiliating peace at the conclusion of the first Anglo-Sikh War.
• The following were the key provisions of the Treaty of Lahore:
  • The English were to get a war indemnity of more than one crore rupees.
  • The Company annexed the Jalandhar Doab (between the Beas and the Sutlej).
  • Henry Lawrence was to create a British residency in Lahore.
• The Sikh army's strength was diminished.
• Daleep Singh was proclaimed ruler, with Rani Jindan as regent and Lal Singh as wazir.
• Since the Sikhs were unable to pay the full war indemnity, Kashmir, including Jammu, was sold to Gulab Singh, who was compelled to pay the Company 75 lakh rupees as a down payment.
• On March 16, 1846, a second treaty formally transferred Kashmir to Gulab Singh.
• The Bhairowal Treaty - The Sikhs revolted because they were dissatisfied with the Treaty of Lahore on the question of Kashmir.
• The Treaty of Bhairowal was signed in December of 1846. Rani Jindan was deposed as regent and a council of regency for Punjab was established as a result of the treaty's terms.
• The council was made up of eight Sikh sardars and was presided over by Henry Lawrence, the English Resident.

Treaty of Lahore

• The Treaty of Lahore, signed on March 9, 1846, marked the conclusion of the First Anglo-Sikh War.
• The Treaty was signed by Governor-General Sir Henry Hardinge and two East India Company officers for the British, and by Maharaja Duleep Singh Bahadur and seven members of Hazara for the Sikhs, covering the territory south of the river Sutlej as well as the forts and territory in the Jalandhar Doab between the rivers Sutlej and Beas.
• Punjab's king, Maharaja Duleep Singh, was to continue in power, with his mother Jindan Kaur serving as regent.
• The Sikhs were forced to hand over the Doab of Jalandhar to the British.
• The Sikhs were also expected to pay the English a colossal war indemnity.
• However, because they were unable to pay the entire amount, only a portion was paid, and the remainder was handed to the English in the form of Kashmir, Hazarah, and all lands between the Beas and the Indus Rivers.
• The Sikhs were supposed to keep their force to a specific size.
• Sir Henry Lawrence, a British Resident, was also appointed to the Sikh court.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh

• In Pakistani Punjab, he was born in 1780 to the chief of the Sukerchakia misl of the Sikh confederacies.
• In 1801 he unified 12 Sikh misls and conquered several small kingdoms to become the "Maharaja of Punjab."
• Many Afghan attacks were successfully repelled, and areas including Lahore, Peshawar, and Multan were conquered.
• 'Sher-i-Punjab' (Lion of Punjab) is a title he has earned.
• Lahore became his capital when he captured it in 1799.
• His Sikh Empire stretched north of the Sutlej River and south of the Himalayas in the northwest.
• Lahore, Multan, Srinagar (Kashmir), Attock, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Jammu, Sialkot, Amritsar, and Kangra were all part of his empire.
• With the British, he maintained cordial relations.
• In his army, he had troops of many ethnicities and beliefs.
• His army was very efficient in terms of fighting, logistics, and infrastructure.
• There was a fight for succession among his numerous relatives after his death in 1839. This signified the beginning of the Empire's demise.
• Kharak Singh, his eldest legitimate son, succeeded him.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Conclusion

After the rise of the company and the fall of the Mughal Empire, the Sikh Empire was one of the few remaining kingdoms in India. Despite the fact that the conflict damaged the Sikh Army, resentment of British meddling in administration led to the Second Anglo-Sikh War three years later.